The season may already be gone, but that doesn’t mean it should be acceptable for the team to coast the rest of the way. And that doesn’t mean that Craig MacTavish should come out and mouth the empty platitudes that Steve Tambellini so often did about expecting his team to win and expecting players to fight for jobs. It means he should do something Tambellini rarely did: improve his team.

For all the ink (both real and virtual) spilled about the deficiencies of the forward corps and the need to add more size, grit, jam and whatnot to the team, the single-biggest problem is a defence corps that too often can’t get the job done. Jeff Petry is probably a number three defenceman on a good team, and perhaps a top-pairing option alongside an exceptional number one. After him, it’s arguable the Oilers don’t possess a single bona fide top four defender.

It’s time to change that. The Oilers don’t have the luxury of waiting for Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom and Justin Schultz to grow into the roles, even assuming that all three turn out as hoped. They’ve spent ages in the NHL cellar; and until the team gets serious about real improvement it isn’t going anywhere.

Here are some suggestions:

Christian Ehrhoff, Buffalo Sabres. Ehrhoff’s name has come up in trade rumours; given that he’s 31 years old and Buffalo is just no embarking on an ugly rebuild it certainly makes sense that he might be available. He’s played top pairing minutes for some very good teams (including the 2010-11 Canucks, a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy and went to the Stanley Cup Finals) and is signed long-term at a cap hit of $4.0 million per season. He does have a modified no-trade clause, but it seems safe to say he likely isn’t wild about Buffalo. He’d be the Oilers number one defenceman immediately.

Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers. The 34-year-old Campbell played more than 23:00 per game for the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. He’s a little pricey, with two seasons after this one at a more than $7.0 million cap hit, but the Panthers are in a position to either take money back or perhaps eat some of that contract if the right trade came along. He’s a bona fide number one defenceman and would look great on a pairing with Jeff Petry.

P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens. He almost certainly isn’t available. However, the defending Norris Trophy winner is a player who has had some significant squabbles with Montreal – notably a contract holdout – and his coach has taken to benching him late in games and refusing to answer whether he’s a “world class” player or a viable Olympic candidate. He would be exceptionally expensive even if the Canadiens are crazy enough to think of moving him, but it’s a situation where Oilers management hasn’t done its job if they haven’t made sure he’s unavailable in trade.

Dan Girardi, New York Rangers. Girardi is primarily a shutdown defender, though he does possess a range of skills. He’s in the final season of a $3.325 million contract and could potentially be acquired in exchange for a scoring winger, given the Rangers’ lack of offensive punch. He’d give the Oilers three very good options on the right side and instantly be the most qualified shutdown defender the team has had in ages.

First, Coburn is a good fit for Edmonton’s needs. He has size (6’5″, 220 pounds), a physical game, skates well, and has some ability to move the puck. He’s primarily a defensive defenceman and plays on both sides of the ice but has a left-handed shot. It’s a mixture that – particularly with a weak free agent crop – the Oilers are going to have trouble finding.

Nikita Nikitin, Columbus Blue Jackets. The 27-year-old Russian seems to be on the outs in Columbus, despite averaging 21:11 per game just last season. At 6’4”, 223 pounds he’d add size as well as ability to the Oilers’ blue line and as a pending free agent ($2.15 million cap hit) probably wouldn’t cost all that much. The downside is that he’s in much the same boat as Smid was; he’s a top-four defenceman but probably not worlds better than the group currently on the team.

Tom Gilbert, Florida Panthers. Florida’s number two defenceman would give the Oilers a much better second-pairing option than Philip Larsen and could slot in for Justin Schultz at times when the young defender’s game is more chaos than competence. He’s on a one-year contract at $900,000 and got little interest in the off-season; he could help the Oilers right now.

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